Digital computers have transformed work in almost every sector of the economy over the past several decades (1). We are now at the beginning of an even larger and more rapid transformation due to recent advances in machine learning (ML), which is capable of accelerating the pace of automation itself. However, although it is clear that ML is a “general purpose technology,” like the steam engine and electricity, which spawns a plethora of additional innovations and capabilities (2), there is no widely...

Meticulous research, deep study of case law, and intricate argument-building—lawyers have used similar methods to ply their trade for hundreds of years. But they’d better watch out, because artificial intelligence is moving in on the field.
As of 2016, there were over 1,300,000 licensed lawyers and 200,000 paralegals in the U.S. Consultancy group McKinsey estimates that 22 percent of a lawyer’s job and 35 percent of a law clerk’s job can be automated, which means that while humanity won’t...

In what is said to be a first for a U.S. law firm, a Pennsylvania law firm will sell artificial intelligence software directly to its clients in the health care industry to enable them to better review, analyze and negotiate contracts.
The Pittsburgh-based law firm Horty Springer is partnering with the AI software company LegalSifter to offer the product directly to hospitals and health systems. Initially it will allow clients to review business associate agreements required by HIPAA privacy...

Best described as an incubator of ideas, CodeX, the Center for Legal Informatics, is a joint venture between Stanford Law School and Stanford Computer Science department.
“We are an inter-disciplinary research centre,” says executive director Roland Vogl (pictured). “Our mission is to bring information technology to the legal system to make it more efficient and to empower every stakeholder. We understand there’s a lot of interest in helping lawyers do their work more efficiently.”
Started...